Senior Investment Officer – GG

IFC a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record US$43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

The Financial Institution Group (FIG) is one of IFC’s key departments responsible for a significant portion of IFC’s business volume, profitability and development reach, approximately 40%. FIG engages in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance, SME, Gender, Climate, Insurance, Capital Markets, Housing, Distressed Assets, and other areas, with both investment and advisory services delivered globally to IFC’s clients through IFC’s global network.  FIG has the following main objectives: 1) financing climate risk mitigation and adaptation; 2) advancing financial inclusion; 3) promoting gender equality; 4) servicing the real economy; and 5) mobilizing third-party resources.
 
FIG South Asia Regional Industry Team is seeking a Senior Investment Officer to be based in Mumbai, to help grow and develop investment business and manage investment portfolio in India and across the region. The pipeline of new investment opportunities includes bilateral and syndicated debt, publicly and privately issued bonds, fresh equity investments, Tier-2 capital, and structured finance products. 
   
 

Duties and Accountabilities:
•  Develop long-term relationships with key clients and other stakeholders (e.g., government officials, regulators) at the working level to identify and act on business opportunities and engage effectively with other syndicate lenders at the working level.
•  Work with clients to identify how IFC can add more value to their company and improve the quality of IFC’s investment.
•  Supervise the gathering of lessons learned on important topics across the portfolio, connect trends from different areas of the portfolio, and make recommendations on how these could improve business development and transaction structuring.
•  Help shape upstream market creation approaches or interventions for a sector, product, or region and engage with senior officials across the WBG and government offices to identify viable market and regulatory reforms that may involve IDA or FCS countries, and influence outcomes of the Country Private Sector Diagnostics.
•  Lead formulation and coordinate implementation of a business development strategy.
•  Lead quarterly assessments of ratings, loan loss reserves, or valuations for country, region, or sector portfolio; and conduct quality control over work performed by analysts and more junior investment officers.
•  Analyze strategically important portfolio trends to identify where they are most concentrated and the contributing factors. Take a leadership role in discussing findings and their implications at quarterly review meetings.
•  Lead teams in structuring deals that strike a balance between client’s expectations and protecting IFC’s and other lenders’ rights.
•  Look at projects across region to draw comparisons and determine fit with the current portfolio. Conduct quality control to ensure accuracy and adequacy of analytical work performed by junior staff to assess transaction.
•  Assess and articulate the development impact of more complex transactions at the sector or subsector level.
•  Maintain high-level relationships (CEO and other C-suite levels) with clients in a region or large country to understand industry trends and create new short-term and future business opportunities.
•  Oversee or supervise assigned staff and consultants.
•  Develop assigned staff and members of the broader team through mentoring, coaching, and providing on-the-job learning opportunities.
•  Ensure quality control of work products.
•  Ensure efficient/effective use of resources.
•  Oversee or supervise assigned staff and consultants.
•  Develop assigned staff and members of the broader team through mentoring, coaching, and providing on-the-job learning opportunities.
•  Perform complex, credit risk rating assessments, covenant compliance reviews, and development impact assessment. Review the quality of portfolio review work performed by more junior staff.
•  Oversee the portfolio management work of analysts and investment officers for assigned portfolio to identify gaps and create a macro view of the financial, compliance, and risk status of the portfolio, anticipating emerging risks.
•  Prepare investment committee materials focusing on financial and nonfinancial risk assessment and deal structuring.
•  Use networks to keep project moving and collaborate with key internal stakeholders to obtain buy-in on deals and negotiate risk and mitigation strategies. Ensure seamless communication flow and cooperation among all IFC team members and external stakeholders.
•  Shape business leads into actionable concepts ready for mandate by identifying and screening potential investment opportunities, preparing the investment thesis, and leading the pre-concept review structuring of those opportunities.

Selection Criteria

•  Master’s degree in a related field and at least 15 years of relevant experience. Related fields of education include business, finance, or economics or an area of expertise specific to a sector, subject matter, or industry specialty. Relevant experience could include a proven track record in business consulting or investment banking, or operational experience in the sector or technical or professional field.
•  Capacity to understand, enable, and participate in market creation opportunities for multiple countries by demonstrating long-term perspective, open-mindedness, persistence, innovation, and ability to leverage all available tools (including de-risking tools); good understanding of the roles and value-add of IFC and WBG in new markets.
•  Understanding of relevant country strategies and obstacles or achieving them.
•  Capacity to lead successful negotiations with clients and different stakeholders based on an in-depth understanding of IFC requirements, policies, and practices as well as client and stakeholder interests. Ability to offer alternative solutions to capitalize on opportunities and overcome impasses.
•  Ability to build long-term engagement with clients and credibility by demonstrating knowledge of their business, sector, and culture; maintain an ongoing dialogue on their business needs, operations, and strategies as well as opportunities for strategically aligned business deals.
•  Ability to maintain client engagement during portfolio stage to identify growth opportunities, address emerging problems, and focus on actions that promote sustainability and ensure that overall development impact objectives are met.
•  Build and maintain extensive networks in sectors, country, and region to bring new engagements, and business opportunities.
•  IFC/WBG: Ability to interact effectively with working level WBG staff and participate in collaborative interventions or /projects that enable private sector investment by exercising sensitivity to differences in corporate cultures, priorities, and operating practices and /requirements.
•  Public Sector: Ability to participate and constructively contribute to meetings with mid-level government officials on constraints to private sector investment in their countries.
•  Networks: Possesses an extensive internal and external network with key players in the sector, country, region, or specialization (e.g., legal, credit industry specialists), and an ability to leverage those networks to maintain expertise, identify and capitalize on business opportunities, bring deals to closure, and obtain approvals.
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skill. Ability to describe complex issues, approaches, and lessons in a manner that is relevant and understandable to clients/stakeholders.
•  Ability to comment effectively on documents, develop junior staff as writers, and lead the writing process of business specific documents.
•  Ensure final products are aligned with the needs and expectations of intended audiences.
•  Able to clearly articulate IFC’s requirements, value-add, financial and nonfinancial risks, development impact, and sustainability measurement in a way that is relevant to and understandable by clients and stakeholders.
•  Ability to communicate technical information in an understandable and concise way to a nontechnical audience.
•  Able to clearly illustrate the long -term financial and economic benefit of IFC/WBG offerings and how those benefits align with client and government needs and priorities, including in more difficult contexts (IDA and FCS).
•  Ability to supervise staff in business development, processing, portfolio management, or specialty area by providing technical guidance and delegating work to build and effectively use talents of staff and balance workloads.
•  Ability to guide, advise, mentor, and coach junior staff and peers to develop and broaden their scope of skills, including providing on-the-job learning opportunities. 
•  Ability to serve as a point of reference on portfolio guidance both from a commercial and process standpoint based on in-depth understanding of portfolio operational policies, practices, and procedures.
•  Ability to balance details of individual assets with a big-picture portfolio view to lead the supervision of individual assets and play an important role in formulating and implementing portfolio strategies.
•  Restructuring expertise that includes thorough understanding of financial instruments and main investment agreements for optimal structuring.
•  Capacity of problem solving to effectively articulate options and recommend actions for both distressed assets and emerging issues for strategic and top tier clients to achieve outcomes that benefit both IFC and its clients.
•  Ability to identify systemic risks and integrity issues in the sector.
•  Fluency in English, both verbal and written skills.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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